In late 2001, much of the media attention focused on Ginger, also known as “IT,” a secret invention that the brilliant and eccentric inventor Dean Kamen had been working on for over a decade. Some reports said it would be an even bigger deal than PC!

What finally emerged in early December was the Segway, a self-balancing “human transporter.” It uses a combination of high-performance gyroscopes, tilt sensors and motors, and vast amounts of computing power, to produce a scooter-like device that allows it to travel over virtually any type of terrain without tipping over.

As Kamen explains, “The idea is to put a human being in a system where the machine acts as an extension of their body. When they walk, they are actually in what is called a controlled fall. One foot in front of the other and falling on them over and over again. When you ride a Segway, there’s a gyroscope that acts as your inner ear, a computer that acts as your brain, motors that act as your muscles, wheels that act as your feet.”

The Segway’s performance has garnered rave reviews, though its $3,000 price tag may limit sales to industrial markets and the high-end consumer market.

The Segway is a wonderful reminder of our own ability to stand and move with an upright posture. The Segway’s design is impressive, but what’s even more amazing is the design of our bodies that allows us to live life without falling. After all, we are tall, relatively skinny creatures with a high center of gravity resting on two rather small feet.

Why the hell don’t we keep falling down? How do we stand tall?

A large part of the answer lies in the way our heads balance on our spine, and an ingenious structure that allows for stability: our heads don’t easily separate from our bodies! – and because of flexibility – our heads can move quickly and easily in response to changing circumstances.

As Joan Arnold, a professor of the Alexander Technique in New York City, writes: “…when the neck muscles are not working as hard, the head balances slightly on top of the spine. The relationship between the head and the spine is paramount. How we manage that relationship has ramifications throughout the rest of the body. Just as the boss, good or bad, sets the tone for an organization, the relationship between head and spine, compressed or free, determines the quality of the general state of the body coordination.

“Our neuromuscular system is designed to work in concert with gravity. The delicate balance of the head triggers the body’s anti-gravity response: a natural opposing force in the torso that easily guides us upward and invites the spine to lengthen, in Instead of compressing, how we move. Instead of slouching or holding a rigid posture, we can learn to mobilize this support system and use it wherever we go: in the car, at the computer, at the gym.”

But this elegant design only works well if our neck muscles are free of excess tension. And unfortunately, as we go through life, many of us develop tension in our necks and other parts of our bodies, both with our upright posture and with our ability to use our bodies as designed.

You can easily see this for yourself if you look at any group of adults running or jogging and compare what you see with children running while playing. Most of the time adults will squeeze the face, shoulders, arms and of course the neck. Most young children will run with ease and balance.

The unhealthy habits of posture and movement that many of us develop as we grow up can be due to a variety of reasons: unconscious imitation of the adults in our lives who bring about excess stress, poorly designed school furniture, or stressful family situations. , to name just a few. few.

A machine like the Segway does not have to face these kinds of problems. If something affects its operation, perhaps an engine or computer failure, it is quickly fixed by repair or replacement.

For us it is more complicated. We can’t just go out and order a new collar when the old one becomes too tight. But we can use our intelligence to assess the situation and learn to break free of harmful posture and movement patterns that have crept into our lives.

There are a number of somatic teaching and therapeutic processes that can help us restore the grace and ease of movement we had as children. The one I am most familiar with is the Alexander Technique. Taught for over a century, it has a well-deserved reputation for helping people improve the quality of their physical functioning.

Segway is an English version of the musical term “segue” which means transition. The Alexander Technique is really about learning to adapt to changing circumstances, to transitions from moment to moment, in the most efficient way possible.